"Not all who wander are lost." – J.R.R. Tolkein
Chapter Sixteen:
Already Over
Ethan scowled and cursed wildly underneath his breath as he slowly counted to ten, both of his hands clenched so hard that his knuckles had turned white as he stared at the desk that Second Lieutenant Havoc had pointed out as his.
If there was one thing in this world that he absolutely despised, it was paperwork.
And there on the top of his brand-new desk, all stacked innocently into several neat piles, was an inhuman mound of paperwork.
"Oh, I am going to find out who did this, and make sure that they 'accidentally' get shot in the ass," Ethan growled under his breath as he sat down and pulled out a pen from his drawer with far more force than necessary, his hazel eyes flashing angrily. The private yanked out a small section from one of the piles and scrutinized the top page, the look on his face darkening even further as he progressed down the page.
The young man was completely unaware of the concerned looks that Havoc, Breda, and Falman were sending him as they watched his right hand clench the pen in an obvious death grip. The three enlisted men watched in interest as 'Eric' began to fill out the forms in front of him while muttering something under his breath.
"I wonder when he's going to realize that most of that stuff is ours and the Colonel's," Breda whispered to Havoc, who grinned roguishly as he shifted his cigarette to the side of his mouth.
"Hopefully not anytime soon," the sandy-haired man said as he leaned back in his chair. "Besides, we're his superiors, so we're allowed to delegate work to him."
"But he just started," Fuery protested as he looked in between the higher-ranking officers. "It's not fair to him for you guys to do something like that."
"Life's not fair either."
"But he probably doesn't even know how to do half of that stuff. Just because he's a green recruit doesn't mean that you can take advantage of him."
"Just look at it as a trial of endurance," Havoc suggested with a shrug. "If he doesn't crack within the first two weeks, he just might be able to become one of us."
"And if he does?"
"Make sure that he doesn't know where the guns are stored."
Fuery made a choking noise at this, while Falman rolled his eyes.
"Private Thomas stands about as much of a chance of losing his mind as Havoc getting a girlfriend," the warrant officer remarked seriously.
"Hey!!"
Breda and Fuery looked at each other before they burst out laughing, and Ethan glared at them for a few seconds before he finally spoke.
"Don't you guys have work to do?" he growled, hazel eyes flashing with obvious annoyance. Havoc arched an eyebrow as he straightened up in his chair, fixing the younger man with a scrutinizing look.
"Yeah, don't you?" he challenged, and Ethan scowled as he turned back around, muttering various curses under his breath. Havoc frowned thoughtfully as he watched the younger man intently for several seconds before he turned around to look at his co-workers.
"Hey, doesn't he remind you guys of someone?' he asked quietly, jerking a thumb in the new recruit's direction. Falman looked pensive as he brought his hand up to his chin.
"Now that you mention it, he does," the gray-haired man admitted, looking up at the ceiling. "But I can't figure out for the life of me who."
"Me too," Fuery piped up as he cast a secretive glance over in Ethan's direction. Breda nodded in agreement as he looked over at the younger man, who was still muttering obscenities under his breath as he methodically went through the heap of paperwork on his desk.
"I know who he reminds me of," Havoc said quietly as he dropped his voice down to a faint whisper. "Call me crazy, but he almost reminds me of a male version of Annora."
The three other soldiers stared at him incredulously before they all looked over at Ethan again, and then back at Havoc in shock.
"Well I'll be dammed, you're right," Breda said hoarsely. "She did say that she had an older brother, didn't she?"
"Not to mention the fact that his last name is 'Thomas', the same as hers is," Falman stated seriously. "It's possible that he could be the one that she was talking about."
"Yeah, but his name was Ethan, not Eric," Havoc corrected as he held up a finger. "And besides, Thomas is a pretty common last name. But you have to admit it's downright creepy how the resemblance is definitely there."
"What's creepy?" a familiar female voice asked from behind the four men, and all of them jumped about a foot in the air as they spun around to face the speaker.
"Lieutenant Hawkeye!" Breda gasped out, and Ethan jerked his head up to see the newest person joining the insanity taking place outside of Mustang's office. He blinked several times in surprise at the fact that he was seeing a female officer wearing the male uniform standing in front of the other men.
"What the heck?" he muttered quietly as he arched an eyebrow questioningly. If this was an unknown military-run country that was trying to make a name for itself, he was pretty sure that it wasn't going to happen anytime soon if all of the military was like this.
"I can't believe that I'm a damn desk-jockey," the twenty-year old grumbled as he returned to his evil paperwork. "I sure as hell better get promoted when I get back to Iraq for putting up with this crap."
The young man silently went back to filling out the forms, completely unaware of the look that he was getting from Hawkeye as she watched him plow through his paperwork. The sharpshooter arched an eyebrow as she turned around to face the four men behind her, all of which now looked distinctly nervous.
"Why is it that you four seem to have no work to do today?" she asked coolly as she slowly fingered on of her treasured handguns. All of the men immediately looked panicked as they stared at their superior and started to sweat profusely.
"Uhh…" Havoc stuttered as he clenched his teeth down on his cigarette, quailing under Hawkeye's fierce stare. The woman frowned thoughtfully as she briskly marched over to Ethan's desk and looked down at the younger man, who didn't stop working on his paperwork until Hawkeye cleared her throat.
"Excuse me for a moment, but may I see that?" she asked, holding out a hand expectantly. Ethan blinked in surprise at the request, but handed over a sheaf of completed papers to the lieutenant.
Hawkeye flipped through the papers for a few seconds before she looked up at the four men across the office with an icy glare, her expression stern.
"How interesting, most of these documents are ones that either the Colonel or you four should be taking care of," she remarked coldly. Ethan's jaw dropped in surprise before he growled out a curse and slowly and deliberately slammed his forehead against his desk several times in succession.
"Damn it! Should have realized!" he growled in between bangs.
Hawkeye ignored the private's self-abuse as she collected all of Mustang's paperwork from Ethan's desk and stalked over towards his office, the look in her eyes indicating that if Havoc and the others had any sense at all they would remove their own work from Ethan's desk as soon as possible.
Seconds later, the soldiers all heard several gunshots echo from behind the heavy wooden doors to Mustang's office, causing Ethan to jump as he immediately tensed up.
"Its okay kid, Hawkeye's just putting the Colonel in his place," Havoc said reassuringly as he held the somewhat small pile of his deskwork in his hands.
"But…" Ethan began as he pointed over towards the doors, his face slightly pale. Havoc understood the look, and grinned slightly.
"The worst thing that will happen in there is that there will be a few bullet holes in the wall, nothing else," the Second Lieutenant said calmly as he slowly puffed on his cigarette. "The lieutenant is a crack shot, and she only shoots at the Chief to scare him into doing his work."
Ethan blanched at this particular tidbit of information, and started to wonder if he had really made the right decision here. Somehow, he didn't think that the people here would take the idea of having a spy in their midst too well.
--
Dublith
--
You never go
You're
always here
Suffocating
me
Under my skin
I cannot run away
Annora stared listlessly out her bedroom window at the woods behind Izumi's house, her brown eyes vacant as she sat there, wrapped up in her memories. She didn't want to force herself out of her dazed state, because when she did she knew that the pain would hit her again full-force.
And so, the sixteen-year old chose instead to retreat into her mind as she tried to cling to the memories she had all the way from her childhood of her brother.
Fading slowly
Unknown to her, Alphonse stood in the doorway, watching his friend with obvious concern as he held a tray of food in his hands. The younger Elric sighed as he softly shut the door behind him before he set the tray down on the desk and walked over to the sixteen-year old; hesitating for a few seconds before he gently placed a gauntleted hand on the girl's shoulder.
Annora jumped slightly as she turned around to look at him, and her expression faltered for a second as she stared into the fifteen-year old's unblinking red eyes.
I'd give it all to
you
Letting go of me
Reaching as I fall
I know it's
already over now
"Oh, hey Al," she said softly as she scooted over a bit to allow the younger Elric some more room on the bed, and the boy sat down next to her. "I didn't hear you come in."
"Somehow, I don't think that you would have paid attention to anything less than an explosion going off right outside your window," the teen said quietly as he looked at Annora in obvious concern. "Are you alright?"
Nothing left to
lose
Loving you again
I know it's already over
Already over now
"No. I keep waiting to wake up and find out that this is all just some sick and perverse dream," Annora muttered as she reached up and started to fiddle with something hanging around her neck on a thin silvery chain, her expression distant as a pained look crept into her eyes. "Why Al, why did it have to be him?"
The sixteen-year old paused for a second before she gave a choked sob and bit her lip, not wanting to go to pieces in front of her friend. "I… I never even got to say goodbye."
My best defense
Best defense
Running from you
Cost me everything
Cost me
everything
I can't resist
Take all you want from me
"I know, and it hurts," the boy said gently as he looked at her. "But you have to remember that you can't just stop living because your brother's gone. As Brother would say, you've got two strong legs, so get up and use them move forward."
Annora looked up at the younger Elric in shock, her chocolate eyes wide. Alphonse frowned inwardly as he stared steadily at the older girl, his red eyes stern.
Breaking slowly
"Annora, I know how you keep saying that you want to go back home, and I understand that…" the boy paused as he searched for the appropriate words, wondering how he should put this.
"But… I have people here who worry about me too, right?" she suggested with a sad smile. "Is that what you're trying to say?"
I'd give it all to
you
Letting go of me
Reaching as I fall
I know it's
already over now
"Right, and I know that Brother would rather die than actually admit this, but he cares about you more than you could ever know," Al said as he cautiously cast a glance over his shoulder to make sure that the Fullmetal Alchemist wasn't hiding somewhere within the vicinity of the room. "But you also need to remember that… well, he doesn't actually like to believe in anything that can't be scientifically proven."
"You're saying that you believe me?" the sixteen-year old gasped incredulously as she straightened up. Al nodded as he looked out the window, and winced inwardly when he caught sight of Izumi and Edward sparring out back, and being thrown roughly thirty feet up into the air. The older women immediately stalked over to where Ed lay winded and with a menacing quality that would've put the Devil himself to shame, Izumi's fist found Edward's stomach. Al forced himself to look away as he returned his attention back to Annora.
Nothing left to
lose
Loving you again
I know it's already over
Already over now
"Yeah… there's too much detail to your story, and too much proof, for it to just be some elaborate hoax like Brother keeps insisting it is. But don't tell Brother that I said that," the younger Elric muttered darkly. "We already had a huge argument about it while you were still unconscious, and he wasn't too happy about me saying that you were telling the truth."
"Hey, one person believes me, and that's all I need," Annora commented as she heaved a huge sigh of relief and ran a hand through her bangs. "I really hate being called a liar, especially when I'm telling the truth."
You're all I'm
reaching for
It's already over
All I'm reaching for
It's
already over now
Al nodded in agreement as he looked over at the girl sitting next to him, and jerked in surprise when she suddenly leaned over and hugged his armored bulk.
"Thanks Al," she whispered. "I really needed to hear that, all of it."
I'd give it all to
you
I offer up my soul
It's already over
Already over now
(AN: This is a friendly hug, as in something between friends, not romantic in any way, shape or form. Al came up and talked to Annora to make sure that she didn't go into depression or something like that. That's what my friends did when my aunt died.)
Annora frowned as she released the younger boy and ran a hand through her hair thoughtfully. "I've been acting like an idiot, haven't I?"
"Not an idiot; just someone under a lot of stress and in pain," Al said kindly as he patted the girl's shoulder gently. "Everyone has to cry at some time or another, no matter how tough they are."
Give it all to
you
Letting go of me
Reaching as I fall
I know it's already
over now
"And the ones who don't are emotionally retarded," Annora joked as she cracked a weak grin in response. Alphonse rolled his eyes upwards as he shook his head.
"Annora, its okay to grieve, but you can't let it consume your entire life. All you are then is just nothing more than a hollow shell that goes through the motions of living," the fifteen-year old explained as he gave the older girl a scrutinizing look. "Staying up here for three days and refusing to talk to anyone while staring off into space is a perfect example of that, and it's hardly healthy for you. Not to mention the fact that I'm surprised that you haven't fainted from not eating for this long."
Nothing left to
lose
Loving you again
I know it's already over now
It's
already over now
I know it's already over
Already over
Annora actually looked embarrassed as she looked down at her hands just as her stomach gave a loud growl in response to Al's statement. The teen flushed an interesting shade of red as she clutched at her stomach, and Al gave a chuckle at this.
"You're just like Brother sometimes," he remarked, and Annora shot him a dirty look in response.
"I am not!" she said indignantly. "We're two completely different people!"
The girl froze as her stomach growled loudly once again, and she frowned as Al almost fell over laughing.
"Stop laughing, it's not funny!! Now just give me the damn soup before I hurt you!!"
--
Ed cast a discrete glance over his shoulder at Annora, who was chatting enthusiastically with Izumi, as he, Sig, Mason, Al all walked through the Dublith train station. Over the past two days the girl had grown a lot more active, and definitely less depressed.
The Fullmetal Alchemist knew that Al had said something to her not too long ago, and Izumi's not-so-subtle threat of beating the snot out of the sixteen-year old if she didn't stop moping about had probably contributed to the change in attitude as well. Ed frowned as he looked up at the train that the three of them were going to board, his golden eyes slightly narrowed. It was strange to think that it was only five days ago that Annora had woken up from her catatonic state, and then promptly found out that her older brother was dead.
'Teacher's right though, we need to keep an eye on her for a while to make sure that she doesn't try anything stupid,' he realized. No matter how happy Annora seemed on the outside, Ed knew that all it took was the thought that you could succeed where others had failed to get you into a heap of trouble.
Ed snapped out of his slight daze as the train's whistle blew, alerting the three teens that it was about to leave the station.
"Annora, Al, we need to get a move on!" he shouted over his shoulder as he ran towards the now-accelerating cars. "Teacher, we'll stop by again soon!!"
"Next time, you'd better not be in trouble!!" the dark-haired woman roared from the platform as she watched her students and their friend jump onto the caboose. Ed and Al looked over at her as they straightened up before waving goodbye.
"I can't make any promises!!" Ed called back, to which Izumi scowled darkly. Before she could respond however, the train was out of the station and headed down the tracks.
"What is it with you guys and almost missing the train?" Annora asked as she opened up the door leading inside the train, her long hair whipping about her face wildly from the wind rushing past them.
"Long goodbyes," Ed stated simply as he and Al walked into the car, and Annora followed them after them as she shut the door behind her.
"And the fact that you're already anti-social to begin with has nothing to do with it, right?" she asked dryly, and Ed frowned.
"C'mon, let's just go find some seats already," he grumbled as he grabbed the taller girl by the wrist and dragged her forward, ignoring her sputtered protests. Al watched the two for a few seconds before he chuckled wryly and followed them over to a pair of vacant seats. All three of the teens ignored the stares that they were getting as they got themselves situated in their seats, and Ed promptly dozed off.
Annora and Al exchanged annoyed looks before the former pulled a marker out of her backpack and held it up for inspection.
"Shall I?" she asked with a smirk. "Or do you want to do the honors?"
"Annora!" Al said reprovingly, clearly appalled. The girl gave him a nonchalant shrug as she uncapped the black marker.
"Okay then, I'll do it," she said as she leaned over and scribbled a pair of spectacles onto Ed's face, as well as a mustache, before she capped it and stuffed it back into her backpack. "You saw nothing."
"You do realize that Brother's gonna kill you for that when he wakes up, right?' the younger Elric commented, even though he had made no attempt to stop the older girl. Annora arched an eyebrow at him challengingly before she smirked and held up a finger as though stating some ancient piece of wisdom.
"That's only if he can catch me."
--
"GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!!" Ed raged as he ran after Annora, his face twisted into a mask of fury as he chased after the girl.
"Not on your life!" Annora retorted over her shoulder as she put on an extra burst of speed, struggling to stay ahead of the irate Elric. She probably shouldn't have started snickering when Ed had woken up while the train was pulling into Rush Valley, because then maybe she wouldn't be chased through the streets by a vengeful shrimp hell-bent on catching her.
Then again, he probably would've figured out who had been behind his facial art by simple process of elimination.
"ANNORA, YOU ARE DEAD WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU!!" the teenage alchemist yelled out, both of his gloved hands held out in an obvious strangling position. The girl winced as she started looking for a possible escape route, and grinned slightly when she found one.
"You'll have to catch me first, Ed!!" she reminded her friend. "Besides, it's not like I did anything illegal!"
"You drew on my face!!"
"So? You're the one who fell asleep on the train, so you were fair game!"
"THAT'S NOT AN EXCUSE!!"
"It wasn't supposed to be. Besides, you were snoring!"
"I DON'T SNORE!!"
"Uh… yeah, you do."
Ed shrieked several profanities in response to Annora's comment, and the sixteen-year old winced as she caught sight of the shocked looks on the faces of several mothers as they hastily covered their children's ears in an attempt to protect their innocence.
"Ed, don't cuss in front of kids!!" she scolded, and was rewarded with a long string of obscenities from the shorter boy.
"Bite me!!"
"No thanks, I don't want to get rabies or whatever the hell it is you have. I actually wish to retain my sanity for the time being."
"Why you-!" Ed snarled as he lunged for his friend, only to have the girl sidestep him easily before she bolted into the crowd, losing herself amidst the mass of bodies crowded into the street.
The teenage alchemist looked around him for several seconds before he cussed loudly and started threading his way through the mass of humanity. He had a little over an hour to find Annora and get her back for what she did before the train left for Resembool.
"Damn it!" the sixteen-year old hissed, golden eyes flashing in obvious irritation as he clenched his hands. This was probably going to be harder than he thought.
--
Annora grinned as she looked over her shoulder, panting slightly from all of the running she had done to put as much distance between her and Ed as possible.
"He's so gonna kill me when I get back on the train," the girl muttered as she observed the few people strolling around on the streets. "But… I think it's probably worth it."
The sixteen-year old sighed as she straightened up and started towards an intersecting street, reaching up with her right hand to absentmindedly brush a few stray strands of hair out of her face. A sad look came over the teen's face as she looked over at a shop nearby, the entire front window filled with books on display.
"Ethan…" she muttered as one particular title caught her attention; A Soldier's Decision. "Heh, he always did like those action and adventure books."
Annora walked up to the bookshop window and frowned thoughtfully as she examined the other titles on display before she took a deep breath and walked in. Maybe she could find something new for her to read that wasn't about alchemy.
The teenager pushed open the door, and a bell rang out merrily, announcing her arrival to the bookstore owner. The owner, a brown-haired man in his mid to late thirties, looked up from the catalog that he was poring over and smiled.
"Well hello there missy. What can I do for you today?"
"Nothing for now, I'm just looking," Annora said with a slight shake of her head. "Uh… do you have any fiction books here?"
"Yes we do," the man said before he pointed over in the direction of a section of bookshelves in the corner of the store. "You'll find the different genres in different sections, and all of them are in alphabetical order according to the author."
Annora nodded as she headed over in the direction of where the owner had pointed out the fiction books, a small smile on her face as she raised her hand up in acknowledgement. "Thanks."
"Not a problem," the man called out just as the teenager disappeared amongst the bookshelves.
Annora scanned the shelves for several minutes, a thoughtful look on her face as she ran her index finger over the various titles, occasionally pulling a book out and reading the synopsis on the back if a title caught her eye.
"Hmmm… Lost on the Road of Life?" the teen muttered as she arched an eyebrow, looking at the cover, which featured a girl a little older than her dressed in some sort of split-sided blue dress with a metal forehead protector on and holding a strange-looking knife in her hand, for a few moments before she flipped it over to the back. "Huh… normal college student Erin Cody passes out after her final exams and wakes up in a world populated mostly by ninjas. When she finds out that there is no way for her to get back home, she must make the decision to become part of the strange society that she now finds herself in, and possibly find the reason why she even came there in the first place."
Annora stared at the book for several seconds before she shuddered slightly and put it back on the shelf. That particular storyline was waaaay too similar to her current situation, in a very creepy sort of way.
"Okay, let's look for something that doesn't earn a rating of fifty on the weird shit o-meter," the girl muttered mutinously as she scrolled through the list of titles on the shelves, automatically skipping the rest of the books written by that particular author. "Damn it, where's the Clive Cussler or J.K. Rowling books? Or even Tamora Pierce. I just want to find something good to read for fun, not be bored out of my mind on that stupid train."
"Hey, do you need any help?" a male voice asked from behind her, and Annora turned around to see a boy about an inch taller than her looking at her curiously, his blue eyes thoughtful.
"Yeah, I'm looking for something that isn't romance, better known as crap, or horror," the sixteen-year old said before she gave a wry grin. "Do you know of any good action and adventure stories that you could recommend?"
The boy frowned thoughtfully as he ran a hand through his mop of blond hair, although a lock of it immediately drooped back down over his right eye.
"Well… there are a couple that I like," he mused as he gave a shrug. "I don't know that you'll like them though."
"I'll read just about anything, just as long as it's not about something gross," Annora pointed out seriously. "And by gross, no I do not mean blood and guts."
The blond boy arched an eyebrow as the corner of his mouth quirked up into a smile.
"Here, if you like adventure stories, these are pretty good," he said as he reached up and pulled two books off of the top shelf before handing them to Annora. The girl looked at the titles and grinned; Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and The Curse of the Tombs.
"These look like they're right up my alley," the sixteen-year old stated as she smiled at the boy. "Thanks. I really didn't know what I was looking for."
"Not a problem," the blond said, returning the smile easily. "I have to say that I'm surprised at your tastes though."
"If you say one word about reading trashy romance novels, I swear I'll pummel you to the ground," Annora threatened as she held up a fist meaningfully. "I've read a grand total of one page of that crap, and it took everything I had not to gag. Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean that I actually enjoy that stuff."
"Okay, I won't," the boy said as he held up his hand placatingly before he smiled at her. "Besides, you're not the first person I've ever heard say that romance novels are trash."
"No, it's a common fact."
"You're strange."
"Where I come from, that's considered a compliment."
"Are you being sarcastic?"
"No, you think?" Annora asked as she arched an eyebrow, causing the taller boy to snicker in response, before she held out her hand. "Thanks for the help."
The boy looked at her for a second before he took her extended hand and shook it. "No problem at all."
"So… I guess you're interested in alchemy?" the teenager asked as she looked at the three thick books that the blond boy had tucked underneath his left arm. The boy arched an eyebrow curiously before he nodded.
"Yeah, more than you know," he said as she shifted the books into a more comfortable position. "So, I haven't seen you around before. Are you new here?"
"I'm just passing though," Annora admitted as she headed towards the register, her new books in hand. "My two friends and I are on the next train, and I was bored to tears on the way here to Rush Valley, so I decided to get something to read."
"Hm, so what's your name?" the boy asked as Annora paid for her books, and then handed over the money to the owner for his own purchases.
"I'm Annora Thomas. And you?"
The boy paused for a second, obviously thinking, before he finally responded. "Edward Elric."
Annora froze in her tracks as she cast a sideways glance over at the boy. He didn't notice her sudden hesitation, and she immediately started walking again as she frowned thoughtfully.
"Really?" she asked, faking surprise. "As in the famous State Alchemist, the youngest one in history?"
"You got it!" the boy said proudly as he puffed out his chest. Annora mentally rolled her eyes as she realized what the boy was doing; he was claiming to be famous just to impress her, or any other girl that he came across.
'Stupid little perv,' the teenager thought sourly as she gave a mental sigh. 'You wouldn't even know a State Alchemist if one of them danced in front of you naked. Why is it that I always seem to attract the strange ones?'
"So, where are you headed?" the boy asked nonchalantly, and Annora arched an eyebrow curiously at him.
"To Resembool, with two of my friends," she commented as a plan slowly began to form in the back of her mind, and she smirked inwardly. "You know, both of my friends are really into alchemy. They'd probably like to meet a real State Alchemist."
The blond looked thoughtful for a few moments before he grinned at Annora, and the teen knew that he had taken the bait.
"I don't see why not," he noted. "So, where are your friends?"
"Probably somewhere by the train station."
"Okay then, lead me to 'em."
--
Ironically, Annora found Ed out in front of an automail shop, surrounded by a bunch of drooling mechanics as they tried to get a good look at his arm. The teenager arched an eyebrow when she caught sight of the harassed-looking alchemist, and decided that she should probably give her friend a break.
"Hey, Short Stuff!! Over here!" she called out, waving her left arm enthusiastically over her head as the fake Ed gave her a funny look. Just as he opened his mouth to ask what she was doing, there was a miniature explosion over where the mechanics were, and a monstrous cloud of dust rose up into the air. From this dust cloud out stormed Ed, and he looked fit to be tied.
"Don't call me short!!" he shrieked angrily just as he caught sight of the boy standing next to her, and his golden eyes widened in recognition as he glared at the taller boy, who looked almost like a deer caught in the headlights of a truck.
"No way…" the other blond gasped as Ed whirled around to face him.
"YOU!!" the Fullmetal Alchemist raged as he jabbed an accusing finger at the taller boy. "What the hell are you doing here?!"
"I could ask you the same question!!"
"So… I take it that you two know each other then?" Annora asked dryly as she looked in between the two boys, her eyebrows raised almost up into her hairline. Ed glowered at her as he sent a dirty look in the other blonde's direction.
"Where the hell did you dig up the bastard phony?!" he demanded hotly, jerking a thumb over in the other boy's direction.
"I do have a name you know," the boy broke in curtly. "It's Russell Tringham if you've forgotten."
Annora ignored him as she looked over at Ed.
"He was at the bookstore I went into, and when he claimed to be you I knew something was up, so I thought that I'd alert you to the fact that you had an imposter," she stated with a roll of her eyes before she fixed the taller boy with an annoyed look. "You know, you really shouldn't introduce yourself as someone else. That could get you in a lot of trouble. You're just damn lucky that I'm not in the military."
"Who the heck is this chick, Elric?" Russell asked as he gave Annora an irritated look, his blue eyes narrowed slightly before he smirked. "Is she your girlfriend?"
"Hell no!!" Ed growled as he glared at the other blond. "Like I'd ever be desperate enough to go out with her! She's just someone that the bastard Colonel assigned Al and I to watch."
Annora flinched at this comment as she eyed the shorter boy with a mixture of pain and anger. She'd thought that Ed was a friend, or at least thought of her as one. Obviously the State Alchemist didn't share her views on the subject.
"Wow, thanks," the sixteen-year old said scathingly as she crossed her arms over her chest, her brown eyes narrowed. "I'm so flattered that you think of me that way. Fuck you too."
Ed turned around to look at her, a golden eyebrow raised curiously. "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean, Edward Elric, that you are a Grade-A jackass!!" Annora snarled as she prodded the shorter boy painfully in the chest with her index finger. "Jesus Christ! I thought that we had gotten past this, you stupid little brat!"
"I'm not-!"
"You know what, save it!!" the teenager spat as she cut off the alchemist and glared daggers at him, her chocolate eyes flashing murderously. "If you see me as such a burden, then I'll just do you a favor and leave! I thought that you were my friend, but obviously I was sadly mistaken!"
"Annora-"
"Edward, shut up," Annora growled dangerously. "I'm going to get my stuff from the train, and then I'm leaving. I don't care what the hell happens to me, but I have had enough. I'm tired of being treated like some… some burden that you have to bear, because you obviously don't see me as anything else!"
The sixteen-year old growled out a foul curse as she stormed off away from the two boys, only to be jerked to a halt as an unyielding automail hand clamped around her left wrist.
"Annora… look, that's not what I-" Ed began, only to have the girl whirl around and punch him in the face as hard as she could, her brown eyes narrowed angrily.
"Let go of me," she hissed, her tone acidic. "There is nothing that you could possibly say that would make this okay. You hate me, okay I get it. End of story, now let me get out of your damn hair. I don't want to be a burden to you."
The State Alchemist froze in shock as he regarded the other teen with wide golden eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, only to have Annora swiftly bring her knee up and nail him right between the legs, her expression grim.
"I said let go of me," she growled as the boy released her with a pained grunt before she spun around and stomped off in the direction of the train station, the back of her unbuttoned jacket flaring out slightly behind her. Russell looked at the irate teen with wide eyes before he returned his attention to Ed, who lay there on the dusty ground curled into a ball.
"Wow, you really know how to handle the ladies Elric," he remarked with a low whistle. Ed scowled up at the younger boy as he tried to force himself up into a standing position.
"Shut up you stupid phony," he grumbled as he finally managed to get to his feet, wincing as he did so. "I don't need any of your smart-ass remarks right now."
"No, what you need is some common sense."
"Shut up!"
"Make me!"
"Oh, I'll make you!! Let's see you say anything with a broken jaw!"
--
"Stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid!!" Annora muttered as she stalked towards the train station, angry tears stinging the corners of her eyes as she dodged various passers-by. "God, I can't believe that I was that stupid! What in the hell ever made me think that we were friends?!"
The teenager scowled as she angrily brushed aside the tears that were welling up uncontrollably in her eyes, the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach growing worse and worse with each step closer to the station.
"That bastard hated me the first time we met, so why the hell should things be any different now?! I've only been staying with him for two damn months!! I thought that we had worked things out, that we were friends! And then that… that jackass goes and pulls something like that!!"
Annora stopped as she took several deep breaths in an effort to calm down, only to find that she couldn't. A deep feeling of helpless rage welled up within the girl as her temper finally snapped, and she started ranting angrily at nothing in particular.
"I HATE this! I end up in this stupid god-forsaken place with absolutely no way home, and I'm supposed to just sit back and enjoy the ride as I follow the biggest asshole in the world around because he's my self-proclaimed babysitter?!" she raged. "Screw that!! I'm not some weak damsel in distress that needs a guy around to save her, and I certainly don't need that pathetic, stuck-up excuse of a boy to be the one to do it!!"
(AN: What Annora's currently going through is called severe emotional upheaval, and it usually occurs after someone's dealt with a lot of stressful situations in a short period of time. In the span of a little more than a week, Annora's woken up from a catatonic state, found out about her brother's 'death', and just heard someone who she thought was her friend say that she's nothing more than a tagalong, not to mention the fact that she's stranded in another world. All it takes is one little thing to make you finally snap, and then you just have to wait until you get upset to the point of exhaustion before you finally calm down.)
The sixteen-year old gave an aggravated snarl as she stalked around the corner, only to run full-on into Al's chest-plate with a loud 'clang'. Annora staggered back a few steps as she shook her head, trying to clear her vision, before she realized who she had run into.
"Annora, are you okay?" the younger Elric asked quietly, sensing that the older teen was definitely upset about something. The sixteen-year old frowned as she looked up at him, and gave a loud sigh as she forced herself to calm down so she wouldn't explode on the innocent boy.
"No, I'm not," she grumbled, noticing only then that Al had her backpack and computer satchel in his hands, as well as Ed's suitcase. "I'm getting out of here, to hell with what Mustang says. I don't care anymore."
"What?!" Al yelped incredulously, his red eyes wide. "Annora, what happened?! What's going on?"
"Your brother happened, that's what!" the girl snapped, her brown eyes flashing with obvious anger. "I'm sick and tired of being treated like some pathetic animal that nobody wants, but doesn't have the balls to get rid of, so it just gets dragged along and treated like crap. Ed even said it himself; I'm just some girl that Mustang assigned you two to watch, nothing more."
"But-" the fifteen-year old began hesitantly, only to have Annora give a frustrated sigh as she ran a hand through her bangs.
"Look Al, just give me my bags and I'll be gone," she muttered. "I don't think that I can stand another minute here, much less the thought of Ed showing up, because next time I might do more than just hit him."
"Like what, kick me in the nuts again?"
Annora whirled around to see Ed leaning up against a wall behind her, his face pale, while Russell cautiously stood a few feet behind him. The girl scowled as she grabbed her backpack and roughly threw the straps over her shoulders before she did the same with her laptop case.
"Go to hell," she growled as she shoved past the shorter boy, only to have him grab the back of the fabric strap to her laptop satchel slung across her chest and yank her to a stop.
"Look, I don't know what your problem is, but get over it!!" Ed spat, his golden eyes flashing. "If you really want to leave, just remember that you wouldn't last a day alone out there."
"I can take care of myself, without your help!!" Annora shot back, her own eyes narrowed almost to the point of being slits. "I don't need the assistance of a military dog that doesn't give two cents about anyone but himself!!"
"I may be a dog of the military, but I never sold my soul!"
"Bullshit! All you care about is your goals, and to hell with everyone else!!"
"You're starting to sound like Greed."
"At least he made some sense! As for what's wrong with me, do you honestly think that my older brother could just die, and I'd be fine about it?! Unlike you, I have to accept the fact that he's gone, and he's never going to come back!"
Ed went white with rage as he glared at Annora, both of his hands shaking as he tried not to lose his temper.
"Don't you dare talk about something that you know nothing about," he snarled as Al and Russell watched the argument with wide eyes. Annora frowned as she shot the other teen a scornful look and stepped firmly down on his foot.
"Oh, and like you know jack shit about me," she growled fiercely, chocolate eyes blazing with loathing as she knocked his hand away from her. "Never once have you ever really tried to get to know me, or anything about my life. You just assume that what I tell you is all just some big fairytale. Well here's a newsflash Ed; ALCHEMY CAN'T PROVE EVERYTHING!!"
With that parting statement, Annora spun around and stormed away from the three boys, cursing silently underneath her breath.
--
Wow… I didn't really expect this chapter to turn out this way, but it kind of just wrote itself. Looks like Ethan's supposed death hit Annora really hard, huh?
Anyways, I wish to address an opinion that was brought forth by a reviewer.
This person asked me if Envy liked Annora. Allow me to leave no interpretations in this response; NO WAY IN HELL.
Envy does not like Annora, nor does she like him. He wants to kill her, just like every other human being on the planet. Besides, Envy would never fall for a weak human, especially one who tags along with Ed and Al. Also, Annora insults him for a reason; she thinks he's a psychotic nutjob, and she would be immensely happy if he suddenly dropped dead for any variety of reasons. Their insult wars are not 'secret signs of their hidden affections' or any other crap like that. They hate each other, plain and simple.
Annora: Like I'd ever want to be within a mile of the faggot, much less let myself be hugged or… (shudders at the thought) kissed by him. Geez, I think I'd gag.
Envy: You want to gag?! What about me?! It's not my fault that some stupid human thinks that you like me!
Annora: It's called being delusional. I'm pretty sure that's what my friend Katie is, especially when it comes to you.
Envy: … I don't even want to go there with that one!
Annora: And I don't like Al either! He's just a friend, and kind of like a little brother to me! I mean, I'm the youngest in my family, so I've never gotten the chance to have a younger sibling before.
Wandering Hitokiri: Be grateful for that. They can be really annoying. My little brother loves to drive me up the wall.
Anyways, moving on.
Reviews
agent000: Oh yes, the strangeness of the situation is definitely going to continue. But Annora's not going to find out that Ethan's really alive and in Amestris for a while, since she still has about a month left before she's going to get her chance to go ho-
Ethan: Shut up, you idiot!! Do you want to give the ending away?!
Phantom SunsSong: As you can see, Mustang isn't the one who notices the family resemblance. It's Havoc and the others who figure it out first, although they just brush it off as coincidence.
anime. storm: At least not yet.
Ed: What the hell is that supposed to mean?!
Lulu4ever: The reason Annora's laptop has lasted so long is because of the fact that she had the cord to charge it. And yes, they do have plugs for electrical sockets in the walls in Amestris. Annora just transmuted the end of the power cord for her computer so that the plug would fit into the sockets in Amestris. Why wouldn't she have had her charger in her computer bag when she first came to Amestris anyways? I always have it in my bag when I bring my laptop to school, that way I don't have to worry about my computer dying on me when I'm in the middle of an essay.
Call-me-Lie-Chan: It's okay. I was crying a bit when I wrote that bit where Annora finds out that Ethan's dead, mostly because I've lost family members before and it really hurts. If I ever lost either of my brothers… it would be like the world ending for me.
talapadme: I take things from real life… and things that I've heard about, and combine them. I also brainstorm funny stuff that I could possibly do at some point in the story and write it down. Yes, Annora will be insanely happy when she finds out that Ethan's alive and well in Central, but that won't happen for a while.
Mei Fire: It'll definitely be shocking, that's for sure.
tiggeranddash: Hmmm… I'm guessing that you're a Disney fan? Thanks for taking a look at my story. Cool name by the way.
Orange in the Gray: Oh she will see him eventually, it's just a matter of when and where.
richard9311: Thanks!!
Disclaimer: The song Already Over belongs to the band Red, and I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. I do however own Annora, Ethan, and Katie.
